Tell Netflix to Nix DRM on original productions

Submitted by Molly de Blanc on July 10, 2017 - 2:53pm

UPDATE: The petition has been sent to Netflix. Thank you so much to everyone who participated in this action against DRM!

Through the creation of original work, Netflix can no longer hide behind the excuse that they only use DRM due to requirements from the film and television industries. Netflix needs to work for their subscribers, and their subscribers are mistreated by DRM. Please sign the petition below, insisting that Netflix respect the rights of its subscribers!

To: Reed Hastings, Netflix Founder and CEO, and Officers and Directors of the Board

Please Drop DRM on Netflix Originals

Please drop DRM on Netflix Originals.

For years you've said Hollywood production companies and other studios have demanded videos be restricted with DRM before they can be streamed on Netflix. Now that you're producing a large volume of original movies and shows, no one is holding you back from releasing them DRM-free.

You have transformed how people engage with media, but now you need to think bigger. We believe you know that DRM is harmful, that it is simply not right to demand deep control over Netflix watchers' computers just because they might do something wrong.

We're asking you to make Netflix Originals available without DRM. We respect your creative efforts. Respect us by making it possible to enjoy these movies and shows without installing dangerous, restrictive, unethical software. Netflix fancies itself an innovative company. We can't have innovation without freedom, and we can't have freedom with DRM.

Why you should sign

DRM is the practice of imposing technological restrictions that control what users can do with digital media. This concentrates control over production and distribution of media, giving DRM peddlers the power to carry out massive digital book (or movie!) burnings and large scale surveillance over people's media viewing habits.

Why does Netflix have Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) on their original productions? In the past, they have excused their use of DRM by claiming that the film and television industries made them do it.

That was an unacceptable excuse to begin with, but now that they make their own movies and shows, it's also a blatant falsehood.

DRM proponents talk about the security provided by DRM, but while it may "protect" video files by limiting your access to them, it also opens you up to risks. The Electronic Frontier Foundation rightly points out that "DRM creates a massive security hole by requiring users to give up some control of their own computers." This weakness in DRM is one example of the security threat it poses to your devices: by being easy to break, it is easy to break into and use to do things like taking advantage of backdoors DRM programs install in your devices.

Contrary to public statements that restrictive technologies like DRM are a requirement in obtaining a license, artists have asked Netflix to provide their work DRM-free. When cartoonist and animator Nina Paley asked them to stream her film "Sita Sings the Blues"DRM-free, they told her it wasn't possible with their electronic delivery system. They also refused to allow her to add a notice telling viewers where they could find and download the film.

In addition to Paley, Aziz Ansari, Jim Gaffigan, and Louis CK all sell DRM-free videos from their own sites. However, Netflix made their Netflix Specials come with DRM. We've been asking ourselves if they really required Netflix to add it in order to make and stream these videos.

We're always working to keep you informed about DRM. To learn more, read: